Scaffold structure

ABSTRACT

A scaffold structure having a frame with both means for stationarily supporting the frame and anti-friction means for movably supporting the frame. The anti-friction means is connected to the frame in a manner to allow movement between an extended position in which the frame is supported on the antifriction means and a retracted position in which the frame is supported by the stationarily supporting means. Means is provided for moving the anti-friction means between its extended and retracted position and for locking the anti-friction means in its extended position. In a specific embodiment, the frame has a ladder secured to the frame and a second ladder removably connected to the frame, the removable ladder forming an extension of the secured ladder.

[is] 3,684,055 [4 1 Aug. 15, 1972 United States Patent Rice [ SCAFFOLDSTRUCTURE Primary Examiner-Reinaldo P. Machado AttorneyI-lood, Gust,lrish & Lundy [72] Inventor:

Robert C. Rice, 1405 Pemberton ABSTRACT A scafiold structure having aframe with both means PP N95 67,359 for stationarily supporting theframe and anti-friction means for movably supporting the frame. Theanti- [52] U.S. Cl. ....................182/17, l82/l27, l82/l29,friction means is connected to the frame in a manner 182/178 to allowmovement between an extended position in which the frame is supported onthe anti-friction 000 NH 5 9 (mu 0 y 7 2 1 39 HQ M7 EH 8 T... '0 cm khr. l1 8 55 [Ill means and a retracted position in which the frame issupported by the stationarily supporting means. Means m m n m m m w T. Mn n u .n M m m C hh S memo m mE If T emkwn mMLGFFT k S 0. 02593 R E65445 n'lllll meme 6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAUB 15 1912 SHEET2 0F 3 NEIL e M 5m M mam vf WI. WW R U Y PATENTEU 3.684. 055

SHEET 3 BF 3 INVENTOR.

AT T0 RN EYS- BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Thepresent invention relates to a scaffold structure, and moreparticularly, to a scaffold structure which is provided with both meansfor stationarily supporting and for movably supporting the structure.

2. Description of the Prior Art A great variety of scaffold structureshave heretofore been proposed. However, there remains a need for animproved scaffold structure having both means for stationarilysupporting the structure and anti-friction means for movably supportingthe structure which is simple in construction, can be relativelyinexpensively manufactured, and which is both convenient and entirelysafe to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 20 It is an ob ect of this invention to providean improved scaffold structure.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved scaffoldstructure which has both means for stationarily supporting the structureand anti-friction means for movably supporting the structure.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved scaffoldstructure which has both means for stationarily supporting the structureand anti-friction means for movably supporting the structure, which isrelatively simple in construction and free of maintenance, inexpensiveto manufacture, and, at the same time, is both convenient and entirelysafe to use.

In the broader aspects of this invention, there is provided an apparatushaving a frame with means thereon for stationarily supporting the frameand anti-friction means thereon for movably supporting the frame. Theanti-friction means is movable between an extended position in which theframe is supported thereby and a retracted position in which the frameis supported by the stationarily supporting means. Operatively connectedto the anti-friction means is a means for moving the same between itsextended and retracted positions. Secured to the frame is a means forlocking the antifriction means in its extended position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above-mentioned and other featuresand objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them willbecome more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood byreference to the following description of an embodiment of the inventiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of thescaffold structure of this invention:

FIG. 2 is a front view of the scaffold structure of this inventionillustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of this scaffold structure of this inventionillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 taken substantially along the line 3-3 ofFIG. 2;

F IG. 4 is a fragmentary, broken away, and exploded view of theanti-friction means for movably supporting the improved scaffoldstructure of this invention and the means for moving the same frombetween its retracted and extended positions;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the removable ladder of the improved scaffoldstructure of this invention;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the removable ladder of the improved scaffoldstructure of this invention; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view partially broken away showing the improvedscaffold structure of this invention having the removable ladderattached thereto.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, theimproved scaffold structure 10 is shown to have a frame 12 with oppositespaced apart side portions 14 and 16. Each of the side portions areidentical.

Side portions 14 and 16 each have a front member 18 and a rear member20. Front member 18 and rear member 20 each extend generally vertically.Front member '18 and rear member 20 are secured together by a bottomgenerally horizontal member 22, a central generally horizontal member 24and a top generally horizontal member 26.

The lower portions of both members 18 and 20 define leg portions 28.Each leg portion 28 has a downwardly facing supporting surface 30.Surfaces 30 are generally in the same plane.

Side portions 14 and 16 are joined together so as to be generallyparallel to each other by two bottom, generally horizontal members 32and a top generally horizontal member 34. Member 34 extends betweenmembers 20 of side portions 14, 16. Members 32 are spaced apart andextend between members 22 of side portions 14 and 16. Frame 12, as thusconstructed, is stationarily supported by leg portions 28 on supportingsurfaces 30.

Secured to the frame 12 is a stationary ladder 36. Ladder 36 has aplurality of steps 38 and opposite side portions 40 and 42. Sideportions 40 and 42 join the steps together into a integral ladderstructure. Ladder 36 is secured to the member 32 most adjacent tomembers 18 and member 34. Ladder v36 slopes rearwardly of the frame 12;the bottom of the ladder 36 is adjacent to members 18, the top of theladder 36 is adjacent to members 20.

Members 18 have a top portion 44 which also slopes rearwardly of theframe 12. The slope of the portion 44 is similar to the slope of theladder 36 such that the portion 44 is useful in connection with ladder36 as a handrail.

Similarly, member 20 have a bottom portion 46 which slope with respectto a vertical. The slope of portion 46 is such that leg portions 28 ofmembers 20 are the most rearward extending portion of members 20.

Members 26 have distal ends 4 8 which extend rearward of the legportions 28 of member 20. Distal ends 48 are the most rearward portionsof the frame 12. Distal ends 48, in the specific embodiment illustrated,are provided with a rubber bumper 50.

The frame structure 12 above-described has a general overall shape. Thelower portion of the frame structure 12, below members 24, has thegeneral shape of a cube. The general shape of the upper and remainingportion of the frame 12 is that of a half-cube formed by cutting a cubein half by a plane including the center of the cube and tow oppositeedges of the cube.

Referring now specifically to FIGS. 1 through 4, the structure of theanti-friction movable supporting means of the scaffold of this inventionis shown. This structure includes two shafts 52 and 54 pivotally securedto members 22 of the frame 12. Shafts 52 and 54 extend generallyparallel to members 32 and generally perpendicularly to member 22. Inthe specific embodiment illustrated, shafts 52 and 54 are each supportedin a pair of sleeves 56. Shafts 52 and 54 are positioned in sleeves 56and sleeves 56 are secured to members 22 thereby pivotally connectingthe shafts 52 and 54 to the frame 12. Sleeves 56 are spaced apart andpositioned adjacent the opposite ends of the shafts 52 and 54. A pair ofcasters 58 are secured to each shaft 52 and 54. Casters 58 are spacedapart and each positioned adjacent to a sleeve 56.

Secured adjacent to one end 60 of shaft 54 is one end 62 of a lever 64.One end 65 of rod 66 is secured to the other end 68 of lever 64.Similarly, one end 70 of a lever 72 is secured to one end 74 of shaft52. The end 76 of a lever 78 is secured to the other end 80 of lever 72.The other end 82 of rod 66 is secured to the lever 78 at a positionspaced from 76.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 3, it is shown that levers 78 and 64 extendfrom the shafts 52 upwardly and generally parallel to side portion 16 offrame 12. Referring to FIG. 3, the casters 58, lever 64,,rod 66 andlevers 72 and 78 are shown in their extended position 84, in solidlines, and in their retracted position 86, in dashed lines. A suffix ais used to identify casters 58, lever 64,rod 66 and levers 72 and 78 intheir retracted position 86. When the casters 58 are in their extendedposition, levers 64 and 78 extend generally vertically and rod 66 andlever 72 extend generally horizontally. A detent device 88 is secured tomember 24 of side portion 16. This detent device 88 engages lever 78adjacent to the distal end thereof so as to hold lever 78 in itsvertical position which corresponds to the extended position 84 of thecasters 58. A stop 87 is secured to member 22 of side portion 16adjacent to member 20. Stop 87 engages lever 64 when lever 64 is in itsposition corresponding to retracted position 86.

In a specific embodiment, various accessory items may be secured to theframe '12. For example, the drawings show a specific embodiment usefulin washing windows having a bucket holder 89 secured to member 26 ofside portion 16, a towel dispenser 91 secured to member 26 of sideportion 14, and a container 93 for used towels secured to members 95extending between and secured to members 8 and of side portion 14.

Referring now to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, there is shown a removable-ladderportion 90. Ladder portion 90 has a bottom end portion 92v and anintermediate portion 96. Intermediate portion 96 has a plurality ofrungs 98. Bottom portion 92 and top portion 94 are both angularlydisposed with respect to intermediate portion 96. Bottom portion 92 isgenerally perpendicular to top portion 94 such that bottom portion 92can be positioned generally vertically and top portion 94 can bepositioned generally horizontally when the ladder is in use. Top portion94, in a specific embodiment, is provided with rubber bumpers 50.

Secured to one of the steps 38 of ladder 36 are two spaced apartrecesses 100. Bottom portion 92 and recesses 100 are shaped, sized andspaced apart such that bottom portion 92 can be positioned in recesses100 to removably attach ladder portion 90 to the scaffold structure'l0as shown in FIG. 7. Attached in this manner, ladder portion 90 extendsupwardly of the ladder 36 and forms an extension thereof.

In operation, the scaffold structure 10 can be moved from location tolocation as desired when the casters 58 are in their extended position84. When lever 78 is engaged by the detent device 88, casters 58 arelocked in position 84. Once the scaffold structure 10 is positioned asdesired, the casters 58 can be moved into their retracted position tostationarily support the scaffold structure 10 on supporting surfaces 30by disengaging lever 78 from detent device 88 and moving the lever 78toward member 20 into its position 86 abutting stop 87 shown in dashedlines in FIG. 3. Supported in this manner, the scaffold structure 10 isrigid and safe to use as conventional scaffold structures. The rubberbumpers 50 allow the scaffold structure 10 to be placed against asurface such as a painted finish without marking the same.

The specific embodiment of the scaffold structure 10 of this inventionillustrated'in the drawings is provided with a ladder 36 to make thestructure more useful. If an extended ladder is desired, bottom portion92 of removable ladder can be positioned in recesses so as to form anextension of the ladder 36. (See FIG. 7).

Obviously, the scaffold structure 10 of this invention can be modifiedin many ways without departing from the invention. The scaffoldstructure 10 can be provided with a taller ladder than ladder 36, canhave no ladder at all, and/or be used to support a platform or the like.The scaffold structure 10, in general can be used in any wayconventional scaffold structures have been used in the past. The sizeand shape of the scaffold structure is not part of the invention.

Whenever the scaffold structure 10 of this invention is desirablyrelocated, lever 78 is moved back into position 84 and positioned indetent device 88. This movement of the lever 78 will raise scaffoldstructure onto the casters 58 and move the casters 58 into theirextended position 84. Detent device 88 will hold the lever 78 in thisposition until the lever 78 is manually released therefrom. The lengthof the lever 78 allows the casters 58 to be moved from their retractedposition into their extended position and the scaffold structure 10 tobe lifted onto the casters 58 with ease.

While there have been described above the principles of this inventionin connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understoodthat this description is made only by way of example and not as alimitation to the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising a frame, said frame having means thereon forstationarily supporting said frame, said frame also having anti-frictionmeans thereon for movably supporting said frame, said antifriction meansbeing moveable between an extended position in which said frame issupported thereby and a retracted position in which said frame issupported by said stationarily supporting means, means for moving saidanti-friction means between said extended and retracted positions, meanson said frame for attaching a removable ladder to said frame a removableladder, said ladder having opposite end portions and an intermediateportion, said ladder having a plurality of rungs, all of said rungsbeing in said intermediate portion, the end portion at the bottom ofsaid ladder being angularly disposed to said intermediate portion so asto be generally vertically disposed when said ladder is in use,

the other end portion of the top of said ladder also being angularlydisposed to said intermediate portion so as to be generally horizontallydisposed when said ladder is in use, said bottom end portion beingremovably attachable to said frame by said attaching means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a ladder secured to saidframe, and wherein said removable ladder is attachable to said frame bysaid attaching means over said secured ladder, whereby said removableladder forms an extension of said said secured ladder. a

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said stationarily supporting meanscomprises a plurality of frame supporting members, each of saidsupporting members having a supporting surface, said supporting surfacesbeing in a common plane, said anti-friction means comprising a pluralityof wheels pivotally connected to said frame, and said moving meansincludes a lever connected to each of said wheels, said lever beingmovable with said wheels between positions corresponding to saidextended and retracted positions of said wheels, whereby said leverprovides a mechanical advantage for lifting said frame from saidsupporting members onto said wheels.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said locking means includes meansengaging said lever for holding said lever in said positioncorresponding to said extended position.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said holding means is a detentdevice.

6. An'apparatus comprising a frame, said frame having means thereon forstationarily supporting said frame, said frame also having anti-frictionmeans thereon for movably supporting said frame, said antifriction meansbeing movable between an extended position in which said frameissupported thereby and a retracted position in which said frame issupported by said stationarily supporting means, means for moving saidanti-friction means between said extended and retracted positions, meansfor loclking said anti-friction means in said extended position, meanssecured to said frame for removably attaching a ladder to said frame,and means on said frame including said attaching means and framesurfaces against which a ladder attached to said frame by said attachingmeans abuts for preventing movement between a ladder attached to saidframe and said frame, said supporting means comprises a plurality offrame supporting members, each of said supporting members having asupporting surface, said supporting surfaces being in a common plane,said anti-friction means comprises a plurality of wheels pivotallyconnected to said frame, and said m'oving means includes a leverconnected to each of said wheels, said lever being movable with saidwheels between positions corresponding to said extended retractedpositions of said wheels, whereby said lever provides a mechanicaladvantage for lifting said frame from said supporting members onto saidwheels, said locking means includes means engaging said lever forholding said lever in said position corresponding to said extendedposition, two elongated shafts pivotally connected to said frame, saidshafts being rotatable about their axes, wherein said wheels arecasters, said casters being secured to said shafts, said casters beingmovable between sard extended and retracted positions upon rotation ofsaid shafts, said shafts being operatively connected so as to movetogether, said lever being connected to one of said shafts.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION,

Patent No. 684, 0555 Dated ugust 15, 1972 Inventor(s) Robert C. Rice Itis certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 4-8, "member" should be --members---;

Column 2, line 64, "tow" should be -two,-

Column 3, line 17, "The" should be One; (2nd occurrence) Column 3, line20, after "from" insert -end---.

Claim 1, Column 4, line 61, insert before "a removable ladder".

Signed and scaled this 6th day of February 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents

1. An apparatus comprising a frame, said frame having means thereon forstationarily supporting said frame, said frame also having anti-frictionmeans thereon for movably supporting said frame, said anti-frictionmeans being moveable between an extended position in which said frame issupported thereby and a retracted position in which said frame issupported by said stationarily supporting means, means for moving saidantifriction means between said extended and retracted positions, meanson said frame for attaching a removable ladder to said frame a removableladder, said ladder having opposite end portions and an intermediateportion, said ladder having a plurality of rungs, all of said rungsbeing in said intermediate portion, the end portion at the bottom ofsaid ladder being angularly disposed to said intermediate portion so asto be generally vertically disposed when said ladder is in use, theother end portion of the top of said ladder also being angularlydisposed to said intermediate portion so as to be generally horizontallydisposed when said ladder is in use, said bottom end portion beingremovably attachable to said frame by said attaching means.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 further comprising a ladder secured to said frame,and wherein said removable ladder is attachable to said frame by saidattaching means over said secured ladder, whereby said removable ladderforms an extension of said said secured ladder.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein said stationarily supporting means comprises a pluralityof frame supporting members, each of said supporting members having asupporting surface, said supporting surfaces being in a common plane,said anti-friction means comprising a plurality of wheels pivotallyconnected to said frame, and said moving means includes a leverconnected to each of said wheels, said lever being movable with saidwheels between positions corresponding to said extended and retractedpositions of said wheels, whereby said lever provides a mechanicaladvantage for lifting said frame from said supporting members onto saidwheels.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said locking means includesmeans engaging said lever for holding said lever in said positioncorresponding to said extended position.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4wherein said holding means is a detent device.
 6. An apparatuscomprising a frame, said frame hAving means thereon for stationarilysupporting said frame, said frame also having anti-friction meansthereon for movably supporting said frame, said anti-friction meansbeing movable between an extended position in which said frame issupported thereby and a retracted position in which said frame issupported by said stationarily supporting means, means for moving saidanti-friction means between said extended and retracted positions, meansfor locking said anti-friction means in said extended position, meanssecured to said frame for removably attaching a ladder to said frame,and means on said frame including said attaching means and framesurfaces against which a ladder attached to said frame by said attachingmeans abuts for preventing movement between a ladder attached to saidframe and said frame, said supporting means comprises a plurality offrame supporting members, each of said supporting members having asupporting surface, said supporting surfaces being in a common plane,said anti-friction means comprises a plurality of wheels pivotallyconnected to said frame, and said moving means includes a leverconnected to each of said wheels, said lever being movable with saidwheels between positions corresponding to said extended retractedpositions of said wheels, whereby said lever provides a mechanicaladvantage for lifting said frame from said supporting members onto saidwheels, said locking means includes means engaging said lever forholding said lever in said position corresponding to said extendedposition, two elongated shafts pivotally connected to said frame, saidshafts being rotatable about their axes, wherein said wheels arecasters, said casters being secured to said shafts, said casters beingmovable between said extended and retracted positions upon rotation ofsaid shafts, said shafts being operatively connected so as to movetogether, said lever being connected to one of said shafts.